[ Shing's TWolves 5-1 ] - [ Win vs DAL ]

[Anthony15]

Nice win, Great game by Marion!

[Marquis]

Very important victtory!
And nice highlights. I like the place, where Marion misses the shot, rebounds the ball and dunks it again

[Buckley]

nice video, and great victory....

shawn marion played very well...

[Shing]

This could be the toughest test of Sacramento's late-season campaign against a Maverick's side who only have 4 games left to play. Significantly Dallas beat the second seed in the West Houston Rockets(17-9) last week on the back of a 43 point performance by Dirk Nowitzki and the Kings will be put to it again tonight if they're looking to take away anything from the game. Dallas are the third seed in the West, though placed behind Portland who lead their division.

Sacramento keep the lineup that brought them a win against New York(12-13) three weeks ago and the long rest might've done them some good after the inconsistency of February.


SACRAMENTO KINGS (11-10)

C - Brad Miller
(14.1ppg, 10.8rpg, 1.2apg, 0.6spg, 1.6bpg)

PF - Shawn Marion
(26.2ppg, 13.6rpg, 1.3apg, 1.1spg, 1.9bpg)

SF - James Jones
(6.3ppg, 2.6rpg, 1.1apg, 0.6spg, 0.1bpg)

SG - Kevin Martin
(2.6ppg, 0.9rpg, 1.3apg, 0.3spg, 0.1bpg)

PG - Mike Bibby
(20.5ppg, 2.7rpg, 8.4apg, 2.4spg, 0.1bpg)



DALLAS MAVERICKS (15-10)

C - Erick Dampier
(9.2ppg, 7.6rpg, 0.7apg, 0.8spg, 1.1bpg)

PF - Dirk Nowitzki
(27.9ppg, 9.9rpg, 3.4apg, 1.3spg, 1.8bpg)

SF - Josh Howard
(13.2ppg, 8.1rpg, 1.1apg, 1.9spg, 1.0bpg)

SG - Jerry Stackhouse
(17.0ppg, 2.5rpg, 2.7apg, 1.2spg, 0.4bpg)

PG - Devin Harris
(17.7ppg, 3.0rpg, 7.4apg, 2.2spg, 0.4bpg)




Around the League on Saturday the 24th of March: The Miami Heat(18-10) have won the Southeast, a division full of struggling teams, the only other contender that hasn't been knocked out of playoff contention from the SouthEast is the Orlando Magic(9-12) who will need a bunch of wins in their remaining games to qualify for the playoffs.

The Philadelphia 76ers(19-7) have won 4 in a row to push them up behind the Detroit Pistons(21-6), both teams will be scrapping it out for the Eastern Conference title come the end of April. They will be followed by Cleveland(15-7), New Jersey(15-10) and the surprise team from the East Boston Celtics (14-9). It is unfortunate for the Celtics however, as Paul Pierce sprained his ankle in Boston's win (BOS 108 vs 104 MIA) over the Heat on Wednesday and will miss a few games. Phoenix(20-3) still lead the league above everyone else, Detroit and Philadelphia can only hope that they slip up a few games before the end of the season.

Remember the Atlanta Hawks(8-18) awesome beginnings to the season, starting off with a record of (5-2)? They now have the longest losing streak in the league of 7 losses in a row and after losing to Dallas on Monday confirmed their relegation out of playoff contention.

[Marquis]

Mavericks will win. I'm pretty sure
Glad that you placed Martin in the starting 5, he was doing very well against Knicks

[hova-]

Nice recaps, and hey Marquis, if Knicks dont win, Mavs wont do so either !!

[kibaxx7]

Great job in this last games Shing

[Shing]

An outstanding show of class by the Dallas Mavericks(16-10), with home advantage, lifted them clear of the Kings to establish their rank as one of the top three teams in the West this year. The Mavs held the visiting Kings(11-11) throughout all four quarters, pulling away in the fourth term of play after establishing themselves properly in the 2nd. Dallas' main offensive weapon; Dirk Nowitzki was benched after only 2minutes in the first after he collected 3 fouls and therefore started the game quiet. By the next quarter he had resumed play and contributed 16 of his 22 points in the 3rd. Jerry Stackhouse played very well too, as did his shooting guard counterpart for the Kings; Kevin Martin contributed a team high 10 assists, eclipsing point guard Mike Bibby for one of the few times this season. Most impressive was ubiquitous power foward Shawn Marion who earned Player Of The Game honors despite his side losing. Marion hit 14-20 FGA and added a career high 8 blocks (including 3 on Dirk)!

Just how long can the Kings sway around the 0.500 mark? Will they rise or fall?


[ Skill Level: Superstar ] - [Quarter Length: 9 mins ] - [ Kings Boxscore ] - [ Mavericks Boxscore ]

[ Screenshots ] - [ Power Forwards matchup | Marion layup | Stack-Howard alleyoop | Marion jumper | Martin-Jones alleyoop]
[ Player of the Game: Shawn Marion [SAC] ]

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HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO (15mb)
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Set to the tune of Superstition by Stevie Wonder.

[Marquis]

Too bad you lost.. And yeah "how long can the Kings sway around the 0.500 mark?" I think you need starting to win, if you want see the playoffs
Nice highlights

[Mark.]

Tough loss dude, however Marion still continues to be a beast

[kibaxx7]

Tough loss Shing... highlights look great.

[Shing]

This is a game the Kings will be expecting to win, but given their form as of late it will not be a game in which they relax. Sacramento are teetering on the brink of missing the 7th or 8th playoff spot they've taken for granted all season. At the moment the Kings sit at 11wins-11losses in 7th place in the West, but behind them lurk the Warriors (12-13), Clippers (12-13) and Sonics (11-12) all within one game of overtaking Sacramento. The Lakers (9-13) are one spot behind the Sonics and will be hoping to use tonight's game to close the gap on the 4 teams ahead of them and make their late season push for the playoffs.

The tension is building more and more for Sacramento to perform. Tonight they need a win to earn their security.


LOS ANGELES LAKERS (9-13)

C - Chris Mihm
(12.9ppg, 9.0rpg, 0.8apg, 0.6spg, 1.7bpg)

PF - Kwame Brown
(13.5ppg, 8.3rpg, 1.4apg, 0.8spg, 1.3bpg)

SF - Lamar Odom
(16.5ppg, 9.5rpg, 5.7apg, 1.2spg, 1.3bpg)

SG - Kobe Bryant
(27.2ppg, 5.0rpg, 6.1apg, 2.4spg, 0.4bpg)

PG - Smush Parker
(11.6ppg, 3.1rpg, 4.6apg, 1.2spg, 0.3bpg)




SACRAMENTO KINGS (11-11)

C - Brad Miller
(14.1ppg, 10.8rpg, 1.2apg, 0.6spg, 1.6bpg)

PF - Shawn Marion
(26.4ppg, 13.4rpg, 1.3apg, 1.0spg, 2.2bpg)

SF - James Jones
(6.9ppg, 2.6rpg, 1.1apg, 0.5spg, 0.1bpg)

SG - Kevin Martin
(2.9ppg, 1.0rpg, 1.8apg, 0.3spg, 0.1bpg)

PG - Mike Bibby
(20.5ppg, 2.8rpg, 8.2apg, 2.4spg, 0.1bpg)




Around the League on Tuesday the 28th of March: Dallas (17-10) officially clinched a playoff birth with their win over Sacramento and so have the Houston Rockets (17-9), who will win the SouthWest division is still undecided as the Spurs (14-9) still have games in hand and could catch up!

The top two teams in the East, Detroit (21-6) and Philadelphia (19-7), are locked in battle. The Pistons dropped their last game against the Clippers whilst the Sixers are on a 4 game winning streak as we near the last month of the season.

Phoenix (20-3) leads the league, as they have all season. Only the Atlanta Hawks (8-19) have been definitely knocked out of the running to enter the playoffs after their 8 losses in a row!

[Shing]

This game was one highlight after another, the video file was three times longer than the finished piece and I had to cut it down to try and fit the best of the action! Kobe and Shawn Marion both dominated on offense, connecting on almost all of their field goal attempts and looking dangerous whenever they touched the ball. Unfortunately for the Kings this stunning game didn't end up with a win, the last 10 seconds were punctuated by a Smush Parker three-pointer to put the Lakers 1 point ahead and a series of poor misses by Sacramento players before the buzzer at the end of 1st overtime.

For the first time this season Sacramento finds themselves outside of the playoff bracket in 9th place in the West, both the Warriors and the Clippers move up to 7th and 8th. The Kings are now tied at (11-12) with the Seattle Sonics.


[ Skill Level: Superstar ] - [Quarter Length: 9 mins ] - [ Lakers Boxscore ] - [ Kings Boxscore ]

[ Screenshots ] - [ Kobe layup | more Kobe | Marion dunks | Jones jumper ]
[ Player of the Game: Kobe Bryant [LAL] ]

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HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO (18mb)
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Set to the tune of Narcotic Suite by The Prodigy.

[Marquis]

Man you are scaring me, loss after loss.. You must go to playoffs!
But i guess it was very hard game with Bryant's 50 points
Marion also had monsterous night, good luck next game, win win win

[hova-]

Ahhh a loss vs the Lakers, Kings fans dont like that, but I aint one

Hope you get the playoffs done, man, and hey Kobe 50, couple of years ago i would have said unrealistic, but its ok now

[Anthony15]

tuff loses there!

[Srbija]

Tough losses man. Good dynasty and hope to see you win a few matches

[Donatello]

Excellent dynasty- I'll be reading it. It's similar to what I'd do if I had the time/wanted to have the time (like I used to, hehe)

[kibaxx7]

Oh tough loss man! Both Kobe and Matrix were unstoppable! Good luck next game...

[Shing]

Thx everyone!

Thierry: Thx man! Elisha Cuthbert is hawt!

Donatello: that's like the most sincere praise anyone can give, thankyou so much, it rly makes me want to continue when I get thumbs up like this

[Shing]

The next game for the Kings will be this home matchup against Utah. The Jazz have been struggling throughout the season and this looks like being one of the easier matchups left for Sacramento before seasons end, with the likes of Memphis, Cleveland and the rapidly rising San Antonio Spurs still to come. But no game can be taken lightly as can be seen by last weeks devastating loss to the Lakers which saw the visitors force their way back to close a 9 point gap in the fourth to force overtime and win by 1. Many nervous faces will be tuned into tonight's game versus the Jazz as Sacramento's playoff ambitions lie in the balance, not wanting the Warriors, Clippers and Sonics to escape too far ahead of them. For Utah however, the season is almost done. A loss tonight for the Jazz will ensure their season ends without a playoff birth to close out what has been a disappointing season for the once championship contending team from Salt Lake City.

The key to tonights game is getting past Andrei Kirilenko inside, Shawn Marion may have a quiet game for once!


UTAH JAZZ (8-14)

C - Mehmet Okur
(16.8ppg, 8.3rpg, 1.9apg, 1.0spg, 0.8bpg)

PF - Carlos Boozer
(13.6ppg, 8.6rpg, 1.8apg, 1.1spg, 0.7bpg)

SF - Andrei Kirilenko
(15.5ppg, 10.6rpg, 3.3apg, 2.2spg, 2.2bpg)

SG - Gordon Giricek
(13.1ppg, 3.4rpg, 2.0apg, 1.4spg, 0.4bpg)

PG - Deron Williams
(16.4ppg, 3.2rpg, 5.7apg, 1.3spg, 0.2bpg)




SACRAMENTO KINGS (11-12)

C - Brad Miller
(14.5ppg, 11.0rpg, 1.3apg, 0.6spg, 1.6bpg)

PF - Shawn Marion
(27.3ppg, 13.3rpg, 1.3apg, 1.0spg, 2.2bpg)

SF - James Jones
(7.3ppg, 2.5rpg, 1.3apg, 0.6spg, 0.1bpg)

SG - Kevin Martin
(3.0ppg, 1.1rpg, 1.9apg, 0.3spg, 0.1bpg)

PG - Mike Bibby
(20.5ppg, 2.9rpg, 8.3apg, 2.3spg, 0.1bpg)


Tonight's game comes only one day after playing the Lakers, so there will be no 'Around the League' section for this post.

[Shing]

The Kings (12-12) secured a significant win tonight against the Jazz, but the fact remains that for the past 2 months they've hovered around the 0.500 mark to the annoyance of coach Shing Williams. Sacramento were buoyed by another fantastic Shawn Marion performance that will lend them some confidence if they manage to make the playoffs. The win today put them back in 7th place, Utah however, remain 2nd from bottom in the West above only Denver who've self destructed this season.

[ Skill Level: Superstar ] - [Quarter Length: 9 mins ] - [ Jazz Boxscore ] - [ Kings Boxscore ]

[ Screenshots ] - [ Marion skies | more Marion ]
[ Player of the Game: Shawn Marion [SAC] ]

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HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO (12mb)
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Set to the tune of Let's Stay Together by Al Green

[hova-]

Nice win, again a monster game by the Matrix !

[Anthony15]

Great game by Marion!!! Nice win

[Marquis]

Important win after great 4th quarter fighting for the playoff spot